Falling Tree Branch Strikes Woman in Central Park

NEW YORK CITY — A woman was struck on the head by a falling tree branch in Central Park on Tuesday, witnesses and authorities said.

The woman, who was identified in reports as Sharon Reese, a tourist from Indiana, was hospitalized after 15-foot branch plunged approximately 25 feet at W 86th St. and Central Park West about 3:40 p.m, fire and police officials said. Reese suffered a broken arm and chipped teeth in the incident, according to the New York Post.

"She was bleeding from her head," said an officer at the scene.

A witness said the woman was walking with her teenage son and husband when the branch fell, said Jessica Wolman, who came on the scene after the accident. She said that the teen looked distraught over his mother's injuries.

"She was on a gurney with a neck brace on," said Wolman. "She was conscious."

The Central Park Conservancy staff quickly threw the branch into the back of a pickup truck and took it away.

Police said that she injured her arm and suffered bumps and bruises.

Earlier this year, the city paid $11 million to a Google engineer who was crippled after a tree branch landed on his head in 2009, crushing his neck and spine.

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